4 days ago
First humanitarian convoy enters Sweida
A first humanitarian aid convoy entered the majority-Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria on Sunday, following a week of deadly intercommunal fighting, a Syrian Red Crescent official told AFP.
A fragile cease-fire took effect Sunday in the province of Sweida, where clashes have left over 1,000 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). An AFP correspondent near the city saw the convoy, made up of white vehicles bearing the Red Crescent emblem.
'This is the first convoy to enter since the latest events, and it is now inside the city of Sweida,' Omar al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Syrian Red Crescent, told AFP. He added that the convoy's entry, the first of several, was 'coordinated between government parties and local authorities in Sweida,' which is controlled by Druze factions.
The 32-vehicle convoy carried food, medical supplies, fuel and body bags. Residents say the besieged city is without water and electricity.
A second aid convoy, organized by Syrian authorities and including over 40 trucks along with three government ministers, was unable to enter the city, according to Damascus.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry claimed that 'armed militias affiliated with Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri blocked the entry of the convoy.' Sheikh al-Hijri, one of the Druze community's most influential religious figures, has drawn government ire for calling for international protection of the Druze and appealing for help from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel, home to a Druze minority, has said it intends to protect the community in Syria. In a statement Sunday, Sheikh al-Hijri said that 'all aid reaching the devastated province of Sweida through international organizations and parties is welcome.'
The violence, which erupted on July 13 between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes before escalating with the intervention of government forces and tribal groups from across Syria, has killed more than 1,000 people, according to SOHR. The morgue of Sweida's government hospital is full, and bodies were seen lying outside the facility, an AFP photographer reported Sunday.
Un premier convoi humanitaire entre à Soueida
